Clovers split home finales with Wildcats, Cougars

Tuesday, January 24, 2023
Cloverdale's Kiersten Wade had double-digit outings against both South Vermillion and North Daviess Monday and Tuesday, scoring 15 points in a 51-28 win and 11 points against the Cougars in a 48-36 loss.
Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT

CLOVERDALE – For the most part, Cloverdale played even with North Daviess in the girls’ basketball regular season finale Tuesday evening.

It was the first eight minutes where the gap between the two teams was created as an 18-4 first quarter was enough for the Cougars to hold off the Clovers 48-36.

“We came out flat and there’s no doubt about that,” Cloverdale head coach James Wade said. “It’s unfortunate on senior night that we did and I’m a firm believer that if you come out flat on defense, it translates onto the offensive end.

“We had a lot of good shots in the first quarter and just couldn’t hit them, which is down to the way we came out. We got it to eight points several times but every time we got it there, we’d shoot ourselves in the foot with a turnover, give up a big bucket and give (North Daviess) credit, they made big shots every time we seemed ready to turn the corner.”

Four threes in the first quarter, two from Meah Dalrymple and one each from Hadley Parisien and Delaney Zorman, helped North Daviess (8-13) get off to a fine start while Cloverdale (2-21) could only muster baskets from Emily Mann and Aubrey Yoho in the opening period.

The Clovers managed to keep pace in the second quarter as Kiersten Wade knocked down a pair of threes while Mann added another and Yoho scored a late basket to match the Cougars for points, trailing 31-17 at halftime.

“We spoke at the break after the first quarter, talking to them about why we started that way, why we weren’t hitting anything and the girls took it to heart,” Wade said about the second quarter improvements. “They came out and played the way we knew they could.”

While Cloverdale was able to limit North Daviess to nine points in the third quarter, the baskets the Cougars scored often came right after Clover makes as Mann scored seven points in the period and Andrea Nees added a three, slightly cutting into the gap at 40-29 after three quarters.

The hosts kept North Daviess in single digits again in the fourth quarter but, much as in the third, Cloverdale could get no closer than eight points as the offense ran out of steam with Wade adding five points in the final period.

Tuesday was the last regular season game for Nees, Kiersten Wade and Isabelle Schmidt and while not the desired outcome, Wade said it was still a fun night for everyone involved.

“We can’t praise our seniors enough and are grateful for them,” Wade said. “Although tonight didn’t go our way for them on our home floor, we are still looking forward to making the most of the time we have left with them as we continue to compete.”

The night before was a different story for Cloverdale, matching up with South Vermillion for a second time in the 2022-23 season, but coming away with another win 51-28.

“In the second meeting, we played really well,” Wade said. “We only had eight turnovers for the game, executed well and our defense was good for the most part.

“We got outscored in the fourth quarter but we had different lineups out there in that period.”

Wade got the Clovers going with a nine-point first quarter, notching a pair of threes to bookend the hosts’ scoring in the period as Nees and Mann added baskets to take a 14-8 after eight minutes.

Cloverdale’s defense had its best moments in the middle quarters, holding the Wildcats (0-21) to five points in the second quarter and three points in the third.

A balanced scoring attack in the second period, with baskets coming from Nees, Mann, Sydney Bernard and Sarah Nichols, allowed the home team to build up a 26-13 lead at the break.

Back-to-back Wade threes sparked the offense in the second half with Mann scoring nine points in the third period and Bernard and Yoho adding baskets to explode the lead to 45-18 after three quarters of play, a cushion South Vermillion couldn’t challenge as the Clovers ran out with their second win of the season.

Cloverdale will now await the winner of Greencastle and Southmont next Friday in the semifinal of IHSAA Girls’ Basketball Class 2A Sectional No. 44, a break Wade said would give the girls a chance to regroup and get healthy for postseason play.

“We’re excited for the opportunity,” Wade said. “Drawing the bye is always a good thing; it’s a chance to heal and zero in on things we need to work on.

“We don’t know who we’ll play yet on that Friday but there’s a lot of time for us to work on us. We’ll watch the game, watch film on both teams and put in a game plan to be successful.”

North Daviess18139848
Cloverdale41312736

Scoring

North Daviess — Lengacher 11, Dalrymple 11, Zorman 10, Bryer 10, Parisien 6

Cloverdale — Mann 14, Wade 11, Yoho 6, Nees 3, Bernard 2

South Vermillion8531228
Cloverdale141219651

Scoring

South Vermillion — Coleman 12, Berry 11, Gossett 4, Vaughn 1

Cloverdale — Mann 17, Wade 15, Nees 6, Nichols 6, Bernard 5, Yoho 2

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